Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly lower Wednesday, breaking ranks with Wall Street that saw key benchmarks advance overnight after better-than-expected economic growth data. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.14% to close at 50,344.1, while the Topix lost 0.46% to end at 3,407.37. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday that the country was set to issue about 29.6 trillion yen (about $190 billion) in new government bonds to fund its fiscal 2026 budget. Yields on the 30-year Japanese government bond rose over 2 basis points to a record high of 3.454%. Yields on the 20-year JGBs rose a little under one basis point to 2.992%.
The S&P 500 rose to a new all-time high on Wednesday, coasting to another record close. The broad market index advanced 0.32%, ending the session at 6,932.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 288.75 points, or 0.60%, and also posted a closing record of 48,731.16. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.22% and settled at 23,613.31. Nike was among the day’s winners, advancing 4.6% after Apple CEO Tim Cook disclosed, he bought shares in the apparel maker. Micron Technology and Citigroup were other standouts, with shares up 3.8% and 1.8%, respectively, and both hitting fresh highs during the session. Stocks were coming off a winning session, led by tech names including Google parent Alphabet, Nvidia, Broadcom and Amazon. The S&P 500 posted a fresh record close of 6,909.79 on Tuesday.
Gold prices edged lower on Wednesday, taking a breather after surging past the key $4,500-an-ounce mark earlier in the session, while silver and platinum trimmed some gains following their record-breaking rally. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,479.38 per ounce at 01:57 p.m. ET (18:57 GMT), after marking a record high of $4,525.18 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for February delivery settled 0.1% lower at $4,502.8. Gold tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and thrives during periods of uncertainty. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he wants the next Federal Reserve chair to lower interest rates if markets are doing well. The U.S. central bank has cut rates three times this year and currently traders are pricing two rate cuts next year.
Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday, as investors weighed U.S. economic growth and assessed the risk of supply disruptions from Venezuela and Russia, though prices were on course for their steepest annual decline since 2020. Brent crude futures were down 23 cents, or 0.4%, at $62.15 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude eased 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $58.29. Both contracts have gained about 6% since December 16, when they plunged to near five-year lows. U.S. data showed the world’s largest economy grew at its fastest pace in two years in the third quarter, fuelled by robust consumer spending and a sharp rebound in exports. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is due to release official inventory data on Monday of next week, later than usual due to the Christmas holiday.
Japan’s government revised up its economic forecast for the fiscal year to next March and projected that growth would accelerate in the following year, on the view that its massive stimulus package will boost consumption and capital expenditure. The projections are the first to be compiled under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration, which has announced big spending plans aimed at cushioning the blow to households from rising living costs while promoting investment in growth areas. Under the latest projections approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, the government expects Japan’s economy to expand 1.1% in the current fiscal year, up from 0.7% growth estimated in August due to the smaller-than-expected hit from U.S. tariffs. Growth is expected to accelerate to 1.3% in fiscal 2026 as robust consumption and capital expenditure offset soft overseas demand, according to the projections.
Beijing’s municipal authorities further eased curbs on home purchases on Wednesday, lowering the threshold for home-buying qualifications, in the latest efforts to boost demand amid worsening home prices in the Chinese capital. Non-local residents - those without a Beijing "hukou" - can now buy homes in the capital if they have made consecutive income tax payments in the city for at least one year, down from two years previously. Families with more than one child will also be allowed to buy an additional home in downtown Beijing, municipal housing authorities added in a statement. Second-home buyers using loans from China’s housing provident fund will now face a minimum down payment requirement of 25%, down from 30%. New home prices in Beijing have been falling month-on-month in the past quarter.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expressed support for reconsidering the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target once price increases are sustainably brought down to that level. "Once we are back to 2 — which I think will be in sight — then we can have a discussion: Is it much smarter to have a range?" Bessent said during an interview on the All-In Podcast released Sunday. Bessent suggested the potential discussion could focus on shifting to a range of 1.5% to 2.5% or 1% to 3%. He called the idea of "decimal-point certainty just absurd" while emphasizing that a "very robust conversation" on the topic would be appropriate. The Federal Reserve formally adopted its current 2% target in 2012, a benchmark shared by many central banks globally. Bessent cautioned against changing the target while inflation remains above it.
The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week, but the unemployment rate likely remained high in December amid sluggish hiring. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 214,000 for the week ended December 20, the Labor Department said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 224,000 claims for the latest week. The report was published a day early because of the Christmas Day holiday. Claims have been volatile in recent weeks amid challenges adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations ahead of the holiday season. The labour market remains locked in what economists and policymakers describe as a "no hire, no fire" mode.
NVIDIA has agreed to acquire Groq, a designer of high-performance artificial intelligence accelerator chips, in a $20 billion all-cash deal, CNBC reports. The report, which is citing Alex Davis, chief executive of Disruptive and a long-time backer of the startup, noted that the transaction came together quickly, just months after Groq raised $750 million at a valuation of about $6.9 billion. Disruptive has invested more than $500 million in the company since its founding in 2016. The most recent funding round drew investors including BlackRock, Neuberger Berman, Samsung, Cisco, Altimeter and 1789 Capital. Groq is expected to notify investors about the deal later on Wednesday, Davis said. While the acquisition includes Groq’s assets, its early-stage cloud business is excluded from the transaction. If completed, the deal would represent Nvidia’s largest acquisition to date, underscoring the company’s push to strengthen its position in advanced AI hardware.
Apple chief Tim Cook bought shares worth about $3 million in Nike, a move that nearly doubled his personal stake in the sportswear maker and signalled confidence in the turnaround strategy laid out by CEO Elliott Hill. Shares of the company closed 4.6% higher on Wednesday after a regulatory filing showed that Cook, who has been on Nike’s board since 2005, bought 50,000 shares at $58.97 each. As of December 22, he held about 105,000 shares, according to the filing released on Tuesday. It was the largest open market stock purchase for a Nike director or executive and possibly the largest in more than a decade, said Jonathan Komp, analyst at Baird Equity Research.
BP has agreed to sell a 65% stake in its Castrol lubricants business to U.S. investment firm Stonepeak for about $6 billion, a significant step in the oil major’s $20 billion divestment plan aimed at cutting debt and boosting returns. The deal, announced on Wednesday, values Castrol at $10.1 billion, and marks the British company’s most ambitious asset sale so far in its efforts to streamline operations and scale back its renewable energy investments after years of lagging rivals in share performance. BP will retain a 35% stake in a new joint venture with Stonepeak, which it can sell after a two-year lock-in period. Shares in BP gained more than 1% on Wednesday following the announcement but were down 0.1% by 0934 GMT. While the deal values Castrol at about $10 billion, the enterprise value falls to roughly $8 billion after adjusting for minority interests and debt-like obligations, RBC analysts said in a note on Wednesday.
Global pharma giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are scrambling to cement their lead in India’s booming obesity drug market before cheaper generic versions hit shelves in March next year. Novo’s strategy emphasizes price cuts and accelerated launches, while Lilly’s products benefitted from hitting the market early. Both companies focused on aggressive outreach to doctors, heavier advertising about obesity, tie-ups with clinics, patient incentives and distribution deals with local drugmakers, according to doctors, analysts, medical representatives, patients and distributors who spoke to Reuters. Lilly has even teamed up in India with well-known Bollywood actors in a social media ad campaign about obesity.